You, Me, Us
by Wolfy-Nixus
Summary: Just something I wrote in the wicked throes of anxiety and depression. That and I've been maddeningly obsessed with Jaspis. Just my take on what could conceivably happen in canon, perhaps. At the very least it's a plausible scenario. I live for comments, so any follows/favs are awesome, but I also greatly appreciate comments, I love feedback 3


This wasn't natural. This wasn't right. It's been like this for a long time, almost feels like forever. How long have they been in the dark? What does it feel like to not be bound by chains? What does the sound of her voice sound like without the intense fear and desperation behind it? That terrible screaming and crying out every day. It's almost never ending. We don't need sleep, so one day bleeds into the next like a long nightmare.

It's quiet now, too quiet, why is it so quiet? The chains have gone slack, and I look over, and she is down, ripples running away from her body. They run until finally, they respond to her complete stillness. What has happened? You're not sure what to make of it, all you can see is her back, what isn't covered in white hair. Her hands are open, limp, legs no longer tense in their attempts to pull away and escape. They're completely still. For a moment you wonder if it's actually possible for your kind to become exhausted. You've never seen it happen before but...you also never saw anything like Steven before.

You wait, cautious, eyes focused intently on her body, so much larger than yours, and yet weaker as you managed to keep her trapped for this long. The fusion is still being held up, Malachite being bound to the ocean floor by so many ocean weeds and currents. It seems several hours pass, when you finally make your approach, slowly keeping the chains as tight in your grip as possible, between you and her in case you need it. Because in the end, though you've attempted to avoid doing so, you'll poof and shatter her if she gives you the reason to. And you have a feeling that she'll try.

You're a few feet away, you figure this is safe enough, tug one chain slightly, forcing her to roll over. She's alive, her eyes are open, but unseeing. She is defeated, broken. You've broken her. You wonder if killing her wouldn't be a mercy in and of itself. But then you think of what she'd done and planned to do. That she'd made you fuse. You never wanted to fuse, never needed to. She forced herself into your mind, you'd let her, but she hadn't given you much of a choice. And besides, it was you for Steven and the Crystal Gems. You wouldn't run away like a coward again.

You should just finish it." You're startled that she's said anything, let alone a clear sentence. You're not sure what you expected, anger, more name calling, anything but this suddenly small voice. Raspy now, more so than it had been, with constant and unfailing use. She was not exhausted physically. But emotionally? Mentally? She was down for the count and you're the one with the power. Power... It wasn't as good as you thought it would ever feel. Instead you feel like the monster you both created. The monster the Crystal Gems thought you were and what Jasper was.

"Why?" You have to ask, how could you not? Where would she go anyway? "Why did you suddenly give up?" Her eyes had yet to look directly at you, instead focusing straight ahead at nothing, unfocused. Now they track slowly to you, looking you dead in the eye, and you shudder slightly. You're not sure why that look gives you chills. There's such sadness in those eyes, where once was a spark of life and fire. Now there is nothing, they're empty.

"I lost. There is no use for a broken gem. Besides, you know what is coming. There's no way to stop it, so you may as well finish me now." She looked away again, and you stare down at her, just stare. You don't know how to take what she said. Is she serious? She truly gives up?

"You're not...you're not going to even try to stop it from happening?" She blinks and the barest flicker of emotion passes across her orange face.  
"We can't. It's probably impossibly huge by now. There is no way to defeat it, destroy it, anything." You frown and for some reason you make your way closer, determined to continue this conversation, if it could be called that. You're standing directly above her now, and you look down at her, angry, upset she'd give up so easily. Though you're not sure why. You'd been begging for peace for so long now. Why would you want to rile her up again?

"You're a proud warrior, yet you give up now? Are you saying if I released us both now you would just lie here at the bottom of the ocean?" She just stares at you, not saying anything, just staring through you at nothing. Why didn't she care? At all? What was so frightening. "You know what? Fine! I'll leave you here, dissolve Malachite, and go see Steven. Maybe _you_ can't do anything, but...but I think he and the Crystal Gems can." She shook her head and moved to walk away, ready to dissolve their union, but suddenly there was a tight grip around her ankle.

"Who...do you think...you are...?" You look down, following the tight grip up a tense arm. She's on her stomach, trying to lift herself with one hand, the other gripping your ankle. You can't see her face from this angle, but the tone in her voice makes you shudder. "Who...do you think you are..." She asks again, head lifting up, her eyes were still slightly unfocused, but there was that spark somewhere in its depths. For a second she was actually proud, but that pride gave way to fear as she was not sure what to do about this now.

"I don't-" You gasp as she gives a sharp tug, then her other hand is wrapped around your other ankle and you hit the floor, there are chains binding your upper arms to your sides, but they're the ones attached to her wrists. You're suddenly dragged beneath her and she grasps your shoulders tightly. What just happened? You can't see her eyes from your position, but her mouth is screwed up, tense, teeth bared and clenched tight, like she's struggling to hold something back. You wonder if this is it, she'll finally snap and shatter you and it'll all be over. You think quickly for a way to escape her grip but before you can,

"You have no idea...How _dare_ you think you can do this to me...KILL ME NOW!" Her scream throws you off, it's filled with such terrible pain. She's so broken, she...she's like you. You were in that mirror for so long, with no one to hear your cries of pain. Until...until Steven. He saved you from that mirror for no other reason than you needed saving. You stare up at her eyes, visible now, and if they could cry human tears they would be shedding them, her face screwed up and full of snot much like Steven would be. "KILL ME!" You shiver, the pain was hitting you harder than it should have, but it would, you were still fused. This fusion was painful to begin with, now...now it hurt more that she'd given up than when she'd been fighting you. "You can feel it...feel my pain...you know you MUST! DO IT!"

"N-NO! I won't do it! I'm not you! I won't-" Her fists were crushing your throat, honestly she could just snap your neck, even while fused, destroy Malachite and leave you to die or regenerate or just shatter you. But really...she still holds back, she won't kill you. "Y-you won't..." you manage to gasp, because as much as she holds back, she's also still got a tight grip on you. "You...you can't...c-can you?" That stricken look becomes full of such anger and she releases you and her fists are hitting the ground on either side of your head. Water flies, and her knuckles are scuffed, scraped, and you find yourself filled with pity.

Your hand touches her face, and she freezes, one fist down, the other raised to come back down. Her eyes widen, confused. You're just as confused as she is, but you don't show it. Why does this matter? She won't kill you, you could easily dispatch her in her current state. But that's not what you want to do. That's not what needs to happen right now. Right now...well...right now is not what you imagined would ever happen to you.

"I won't destroy you...We...we can dissolve Malachite...maybe there _is_ a way...we just need to-" she looks angry again.

"You're insane..! There is no destroying it! Do you have any idea-" You've had enough and with surprising strength manage to shove her off of you and you are now on top of her. Though you're much smaller than she is, you are basically sitting on her stomach, your hands on her shoulders.

"I might be crazy! You're right! I spent so long...alone, with no one listening...broken. But I _do_ know this, I want to _live_...I'm going to live and no matter what tries to stop me I'm going to fight! And...and if you want to give up..just like that? That's all the better...because I won't be stuck down here with someone like you..." she looks away from you, that look of fear and anger and defeat on her face again. "but...if...you agree to not give up...to fight _with_ me instead of against me...you might survive..."

She looks up at you like you're actually crazy. "I am a warrior! I have no other purpose but to fight! Even if we do manage to survive and destroy it...I will be branded a traitor, no better than you or the other defective-" You stand, and the chains dissolve. You're not going to keep discussing this when you have already made your decision.

You're both in the ocean, it's pitch-black, but that barely bothers you, or her. You look through the gloom, the ocean floor surrounding you has been flattened by Malachite's vicious thrashing. There is nothing but flat sand for as far as possible, but that doesn't matter now. You stare at her, and she stares back in shock, ready to do...something, but even she's not sure what.

"Would you rather die now? Weak? Alone? Sitting here at the bottom of the ocean and waiting to die? Or would you rather be the warrior you claim to be? And fight until your very last breath? You just said yourself if you fought alongside us you'd be cast out. But if you returned now, do you think you'd be welcomed back happily? You failed your mission. Your ship was destroyed and by a fusion of a Ruby and Sapphire you were utterly defeated! What do you think is the better option? A chance here on earth? Or no chance at all?" You stare at her for a few moments longer, then shake your head and turn your back. "You know how to find me now...if you want to assist us."

Without another word you spread your wings and fly through the ocean like a bird through the air. She was free, finally free. At least, she was free to do as she chose, and that choice was obvious. She didn't care about what the Crystal Gems had done, at least not for now, she doubted she'd ever forgive them for keeping her prisoner, but there was bigger fish to fry and nothing could change that. Unless they worked together.


End file.
